Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum
by Aelfaer
Summary: The CSIs discover the murder of a mother and her child. Sara finds herself haunted by their difficulties in discovering the killer, and bringing him to justice. During the case she finds herself growing closer to Brass. COMPLETE.
1. First Part

**Pairing:** Brass/Sara. Eventually, anyway.   
  
**Summary:** Another day, another corpse; the CSIs discover the murder of a mother and her child. Sara finds herself haunted by their difficulties in finding the killer, and in bringing him to justice.  
  
**Spoilers:** Not that I know of. Set sometime or other before 'Bloodlines'  
  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own CSI or any of the characters within it. You know the drill.  
  
**A/N:** OK so Brass and Sara are not a usual pairing, but I like the idea. I've tried to make the case more than an excuse for a ship but I'm not sure how well I've managed it! Note that I'm British and therefore my spellings may be different. Quotation from the Bible is from Amos 5:24. The Latin in the title means "Let justice be done, though heaven should fall", and is attributed to Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius.

* * *

**Fiat Justitia ruat Coelum **

_Night brings out the inhumanity in man. Darkness provides a convenient cover for the works of darkness, hiding evil from men of good ill. Terrible crimes are committed with greater impunity during the hours of the night; the perpetrators of vile and violent acts seek these times to indulge their depravity.  
  
Some others seek the night to uncover its crimes, some choose a topsy-turvy life to force out of hiding those workers of iniquity, bringing them at last to justice so richly deserved. Using ancient and modern methods, from an understanding of the mind to sophisticated tools of analysis they bring justice to the dead._ Quiscunque tactus vestigia legat_, whoever touches, leaves a trace._

_

* * *

_  
Another night, another dead body. The criminalists of Las Vegas' crime lab had been called to the scene of a rape/murder shortly after their shift began. Arriving with the tools of their trade, the team met up with Captain Brass, who was already present at the crime scene.  
  
Gesturing at an ordinary suburban home, the detective said, "It's a bad one. Two victims, look like mother and daughter. Reported by the next-door neighbour who heard strange noises coming from the house. It looks like a double rape and murder." Walking with the CSIs towards the house, Brass continued, "the mother was early forties, daughter was a young teenager, no indication anyone else lived with them."  
  
Ducking under the police tape, they entered the building. They found a pleasant house, comfortable with sofas and bright prints on the white walls. Following Brass, they went upstairs into the master bedroom. Lying on the bed was the corpse of a woman. Her hands were clenched in tight fists, and her skirt was rolled above her waist. Snapping on latex gloves, Grissom rolled back her eyelid and noted the broken capillaries, and the blueness of her lips.  
  
"Looks like she was strangled," he said, "we'll know more after the autopsy."  
  
In the adjoining room Brass showed them the body of a young girl. She lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, her clothing torn and her eyes wide and staring. Like her mother, she had been strangled, and her neck was badly bruised.  
  
"She looks all of twelve...how can people do this to children?" Catherine said, doubtless thinking of her own teenage daughter. No one replied, they had all thought the same many times before, viewing the terrible crimes they saw every day. Grissom divided the team up, assigning the mother to Catherine, Nick and Warrick, leaving himself and Sara to collect evidence from the daughter. Brass and several other cops spread out through the house, searching for identification for the dead. With the ease of long practise the CSIs began taking samples from the nails of the victims, scanning every inch of the bed and carpets for hairs or blood, and taking fingerprints from every surface the killer could conceivably have touched.  
  
The Coroner arrived shortly afterwards, and on taking the temperature of the body was able to tell them that the victims had died two to four hours earlier. He then took the bodies back to the lab for a full post-mortem once the crime scene photographs had been taken.  
  
The CSIs worked hard, and quickly, knowing that the crime scene could provide them with all the clues necessary to catch the killer. Brass came back and reported to Grissom that he had found the passports of the victims in a study, revealing them to be Elizabeth Tiernan, aged 41, and her daughter Joanna, aged 12. It seemed that Elizabeth had been a single mother, as there was no indication that anyone else lived in the house. They knew that now the hunt would be on for the father of Joanna, for past or present boyfriends or husbands of Elizabeth, for it is a sad fact that most people are killed by someone that they know, and know well. Grissom went with a police officer to inspect the outside of the property, looking for evidence of a break-in, tire treads or footprints that might help them find the killer.  
  
Left alone in what had been the girl's bedroom Sara looked around her. Posters of pop stars and actors covered the walls, and a row of stuffed animals sat on the windowsill. On the bedside table was a picture of an older, smiling woman - a grandmother, she supposed. On a plain desk lay a collection of school books, homework neatly placed in a pile. It seemed so pointless that such a young girl had been viciously killed, had lost her life in a slow and terrifying way at the hands of someone she knew but who had had no mercy upon her. What sort of monster would sexually assault and kill a mother and daughter? Sara could never forget the faces of the victims, they haunted her dreams, rebuking her for not being able to save them and for the times when their killers could not be brought to justice. Picking up a stuffed bear in her gloved hands Sara wondered what hopes and dreams the young girl had had, destined never to be fulfilled, now.  
  
As she stood, lost in thought, a soft noise behind her brought her out of her introspection. Turning round she saw the sadness of Brass' face, mirroring her own.  
  
"These are always the worst," the stocky detective said, "I can never think of any reason why someone would kill a child. An argument gone too far with an adult, I can understand, but a kid..."  
  
"We'll find out who did this, Jim," Sara said with a confidence she did not feel.  
  
"Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everlasting stream," Brass quoted softly, looking at the bear she still held in her hands. Sara looked surprised at the biblical-sounding quotation, and suddenly embarrassed Brass muttered something about having read it in a detective story. They shared a smile, remembering the many times Grissom had flummoxed them with his quotations, before returning to work.

* * *

Back at the lab everyone worked soberly, waiting for the autopsy report. It was not long in coming, and confirmed that both mother and daughter had been raped and then murdered. The killer had used a condom and had strangled them with his gloved hands. The mother had died first, with the killer then targeting her daughter. The young girl had suffered more than her mother, having been repeatedly assaulted, unable to get away from her much stronger attacker, and her body defiled after she finally died. Sitting in conference, the CSIs reviewed what they knew so far.  
  
"We have two victims, both raped and strangled by, most probably, the same man. The younger was more viciously abused than her mother, for what reason we don't know," Grissom began.  
  
"Perhaps he wanted to get the mother out of the way so he could do what he wanted to Joanna?" Sara said.  
  
"But why rape her then?" asked Warrick.  
  
"Foreplay? Maybe he hated them both but the girl more?" Nick said.  
  
"Possible, but let's concentrate on the evidence we have. Sara, what did you discover?" said Grissom.  
  
"Some hairs on the carpet - from the colour I think they belonged to Joanna though Greg is comparing them to her at the moment. Smudges and a few partials on the door handle and surfaces. Some fibres on her clothing and under her nails, but no flesh or blood."  
  
The others told of their evidence. None of it amounted to very much. The killer seemed to have planned his crime carefully, wearing gloves and long sleeves, leaving no semen, blood or hairs in the house. Sara listened with a sinking feeling: they had so little, so very little to catch a killer.  
  
Brass joined them, bringing with him an address book he had found at the scene. From Joanna's birth certificate they had learned that her father was Robert Barron, and Brass had the welcome news that there was a spent restraining order against him, preventing him from contacting Elizabeth or her daughter. He would be their prime suspect. Now came the tedious process of interviewing their friends and colleagues to find out all they could about the family, and who might have wanted to do such a terrible thing to them. Someone had to formally identify the bodies, too, and remembering the photograph at Joanna's bedside Sara suggested the grandmother.

* * *

Speaking to the friends of the Tiernan's they heard nothing but good spoken of them. They had been a quiet family, distressed by the possessive behaviour and insane jealousy of Joanna's father, harmed by that but on the road to recovery. They had moved home and Joanna was settling down at her new school, where she was an intelligent and well-liked pupil. She had wanted to join the police when she grew up. Clever at science, they might even have worked with the girl, had her life not been so callously ended.  
  
Elizabeth's mother, Mary Tiernan, had been located. An active 68 year old, she had agreed to identify the bodies. She was a widow, and Elizabeth had been an only child, with one stroke the murderer had removed all she had from her world. She was greeted at the mortuary by Brass, and led in to view the bodies. Covered by white sheets and their faces soothed, they looked almost peaceful as they lay on the slabs. Mrs Tiernan looked at the bodies of her daughter and grand-daughter and confirmed who they were in a voice cracking with suppressed emotion. Brass thanked her and reassured her that they were doing everything they could do to catch the man who had done this. Catching sight of Sara outside, the old woman fiercely grasped her hands and begged her to find the man who had taken all she cared about from her. Then Mrs Tiernan left, seeming older than she had, bowed by the realisation that her only child and grandchild had been violently taken from her before their time.  
  
Sara felt tears springing to her eyes as she saw again the human cost of the crimes they saw in the ones who were left behind. She wondered again how Grissom and the others could be so emotionless when faced with tragedy. She never could. She could put up a façade at work, some of the time, but she paid the price for that in her dreams and in the sleepless nights she suffered. So she worked, and worked, and tried to drown the screams of the dying in alcohol, but it didn't seem to help get rid of what Grissom claimed was just empathy.  
  
As she stood, lost in thought, Sara felt a comforting hand squeeze her shoulder. She turned around and saw Jim. She nearly let go into tears as she saw the compassion in his eyes. He knew and understood in a way that the other scientists did not. He alone knew about the drinking, and tried to help her. He was always there, never loud or pushy, but there for them if any of them needed him. Sara surprised herself by feeling a sudden urge to lean on Jim, to ask him to hold her, to let out the emotions she wasn't supposed to have in his arms. Briefly she wondered what he would do if she gave in and asked him for comfort, but she couldn't let anyone think she couldn't cope with the job, that she was over-emotional and incapable of objective thought. She took a deep breath and managed to smile at Jim, thanking him silently for his concern. Then she returned to her work in the lab, to the struggle to find the evidence to condemn a killer for his actions. There had to be something they could find, something to reveal the man behind the mask of violence, something to set the spirits of the dead at rest. 


	2. Second Part

**A/N:** This is rather longer than I was planning on it being. The next chapter should be the last, though. Hope someone likes it. R&R always appreciated.

* * *

Robert Barron worked as a doorman for a nightclub. The CSIs were very keen to talk to him about his whereabouts when Elizabeth and her daughter Joanna had been murdered. Leaving the other CSIs to complete the analysis of scene evidence, Grissom, Sara and Brass made their way to Barron's workplace. They took in the expensive, understated exterior of the private club before crossing the road and asking for Barron. The doorman looked set to refuse them entrance but relented and called the manager when they presented their IDs.  
  
The manager, a tall grey-haired man named Peter Reid ushered them into his office. He seemed concerned that his exclusive club would be tainted if it were known that the police were interested in one of his employees, and stated over and over that his staff could never be involved with anything illegal.  
  
"We'd like to speak to Robert Barron. Is he here?" Brass asked, growing impatient with the man.  
  
"Robert? Y-yes. He's doing internal security tonight - just showing a presence, making sure there's no trouble. I'll get him for you."  
  
"What's he like as an employee?" Grissom said.  
  
"Oh, he's excellent. We've never had any cause for complaint with him. He gets on well, but not too well if you know what I mean with the customers, and he's sorted out the few problems we've had while he's been here."  
  
"Has he ever spoken of his daughter or his ex?"  
  
"He said once that he had a daughter but that her mother wouldn't let him see her...but we don't really talk about our private lives here."  
  
"What shift was he working today?"  
  
"Ten through seven, the same as he always does. Look, I don't think I can help you all that much - I'll go and get him."  
  
The manager left them in his office. The time Barron had been working meant that he could have been involved in the murder; he had no alibi from his workplace. The manager returned a few minutes later. With him was a broad, heavily-muscled man in his mid-forties. Barron sported a crew cut and a dark suit. He was the epitome of a bouncer, looking formidable enough to prevent trouble from breaking out, and well able to stop fights should they occur. He had a surly expression on his face as he was left alone with the CSIs.  
  
"You're Robert Barron?" Brass queried.  
  
"What if I am? Has that stupid bitch Elizabeth been complaining about me again?" He spat the words at Brass.  
  
"Where were you before you started work tonight?"  
  
"Why do you want to know?"  
  
"Mr Barron, Elizabeth and Joanna Tiernan were murdered this evening. Where were you from five until you started work?"  
  
Barron started at the CSIs for a moment. "They're dead? Someone gave Elizabeth what she deserved then. She was just a slut, probably drove some guy too far," Barron laughed unpleasantly. "You think it was me? Not guilty! I was with my girlfriend before I came here. Gettin' it on, you know. She's not a frigid bitch like Elizabeth was, oh no! Ask her, she'll tell you."  
  
"You were with her from five in the afternoon until you came to work? The whole time?"  
  
"Sure. I've got stamina; I know how to make a woman happy." Barron leered in Sara's direction, apparently pleased with this evidence of his virility. Taking his home address and ascertaining that his girlfriend Anna lived with him, the CSIs left to question her, knowing that they would have to question this unpleasant man again at some point.

* * *

Barron lived in a sordid apartment. Compared to the neat homeliness of the Tiernans' house, it looked squalid. Paint was peeling around the door as they knocked and waited for Barron's alibi to answer.  
  
The door was opened by a petite, dark haired girl who was obviously much younger than Barron. She seemed frightened when they announced who they were. She invited them inside, and they cautiously sat on an unwholesome sofa in the squalid living room, watching her twist and wring her hands, staring at them with wide, frightened eyes. Brass spoke gently to her, asking her name.  
  
"Anna. Anna Sullivan. W-why are you here?"  
  
"Did you know your boyfriend had a daughter, Anna?" Brass asked, softly.  
  
"Yes, Rob said her mother had made sure he couldn't see her, she lied to the police, saying he harassed her, made him lose his job."  
  
"Well, Elizabeth and Joanna were both murdered tonight, Anna, and we're trying to find out who could have done such a thing."  
  
Unlike her boyfriend, Anna seemed genuinely distressed by the news.  
  
"We just want to ask you a few questions, Anna. Robert said you two were here from five until he had to go to work, er, making love. Is that right?"  
  
"Yes, yes that's right." Fear had replaced the distress she had previously shown, and Brass wondered why.  
  
"He didn't leave, didn't go anywhere during that time?"  
  
"No. He was here from five until he went to work." There was something false about the way she spoke the words but Brass didn't see how to get her to be more forthcoming. He asked if they could take a look around the apartment, and when she reluctantly agreed, left Sara to fill in the permission forms with her.  
  
Grissom and Brass looked around the small apartment, noting the filthy and ill-equipped kitchen and then spreading out into the untidy bedroom. Grissom started inspecting the contents of the laundry hamper, trying to find ripped or town clothing while Brass read the papers he could find scattered here and there.  
  
Meanwhile Sara tried to put the frightened woman before her at ease. She talked about inconsequential things - the weather, football, work, small talk to make Anna less nervous. It did not seem to work, and Sara wondered whether that was because of her poor people skills or a darker reason. She handed over the partially completed consent form and indicated where Anna had to sign. As the woman took the papers, she dropped them, sending them flying to the floor. Sara bent down to help her gather them up and controlled a gasp when Anna's sleeve rolled up as she stretched, revealing a large bruise and what looked like burns on her forearm. Anna caught her look and, startled, said, "I'm clumsy, always clumsy."  
  
"Anna, did someone do this to you?"  
  
A pause, and then "no!", but Anna looked like she wanted to say something else.  
  
Sara wanted to probe further, but at that moment Grissom reappeared, bearing a bundle of clothes in an evidence bag. Anna looked desperate to get rid of them, especially Sara, and agreed to let them take the clothes for tests.  
  
As soon as they were back in the car Sara told the two men of the bruise and burns she had seen on Anna.  
  
"He's frightened her into being his alibi!" Sara exclaimed.  
  
"We don't know that," said Grissom, irritatingly remote, "even if he has been abusing her - and we don't know that for sure - then it doesn't necessarily follow that she wasn't telling the truth about where he was."  
  
"I felt there was something fake about the way she confirmed his alibi, like she just followed the cues I gave her," Brass said.  
  
"I'm a scientist. 'Feelings' and instinct have no place in what we do here - only the evidence. _You_ should know better, Sara. Let's get back to the lab and analyse these clothes I found. Perhaps we'll find something to question them about later."  
  
They continued their journey in silence. Sara was still fuming over Grissom's decision to ignore what she had found. People's reactions contributed as much to the science of detection as DNA analysis, especially in a case like this when the physical evidence was so slight. It wasn't as though she were just going on 'gut instinct' without any reason - Sara was convinced they should work further on Anna, to see whether she would tell them the whole truth.

* * *

Returning to the lab Grissom laid out the trousers and shirt he had found on a bench. He scanned them for traces of blood, saliva or other fluids, using tape to lift hairs and fibres from the clothing. He sent them for analysis to compare them with hair and fibre samples obtained from the bodies.  
  
Brass sat in his office reviewing the transcript of the court case brought by Elizabeth Tiernan against Robert Barron. An all-too common story of a woman who fell in love with a man who wanted to control her life, and bind her to him forever. He had threatened her, followed her at work, and prevented her from leading the free life that was her right. Thinking back to the frightened woman he had met Brass wondered if her life was as constrained as Elizabeth's had been, and if she would ever show the courage that Elizabeth had shown, and leave Barron. He found his thoughts straying to Sara, and how much she hated domestic abuse, and how powerless they were in the face of it unless the victim could be persuaded to speak. He had seen how often Sara empathised with the raped and battered women they came into contact with, empathised so much that he wondered just what secrets her life before he knew her had held. But he would never ask nor try to persuade her to tell her secrets if she was unwilling to talk about them. Jim worried about Sara. She was a brilliant scientist, but grew so close to the victims of crime that she caused herself pain. Grissom did not seem to understand, and his own fear at her interest in him caused him to be too harsh towards her. Jim thought back to the day when he realised Sara had turned to the bottle for comfort, and how many times since he had worried about her. He knew how easy, how tempting it was to blot out all they saw at work with alcohol, but he also knew how self-defeating it ultimately was. Jim just wished he could help Sara more, that he could persuade her to confide in him. He knew his feelings for her were not just those of a friend, but if he could not be anything more to her, he could at least be a good friend, if she would let him. Sighing, Jim tore his thoughts away from the woman who captivated him, and concentrated on the case before him.  
  
Sara worked at her bench, analysing the fibres Grissom had recovered from Barron's clothing, but could not help thinking of Anna. She was _certain_ that that woman was being abused by her boyfriend, and was too frightened of him to give them the information which could lead to his arrest. There were no other suspects than Barron, no one else who could conceivably have wanted to hurt and kill Elizabeth and Joanna. The man's history revealed him to be obsessed with control, desiring to control and have power over women - the warped reasoning behind the rape of his ex-partner and his own child. Robert Barron was a real and continuing danger to others - he showed no remorse for his actions, couldn't even be bothered to pretend he felt sorry for their deaths. If only she could get Anna to open up...  
  
A beep heralded the results of the fibre analysis. Nothing. The fibres did not match any found at the scene. Going through the evidence bags Sara noticed one she had not paid attention to before, a tiny scrap of rubber. Looking at it under a microscope Sara realised it was a fragment torn from a rubber kitchen glove. Walking through to where Warrick was working, she asked if he had processed all the fingerprints yet.  
  
"Yeah, nothing much. Prints from Elizabeth and Joanna, unidentifiable smudges, and a few glove prints, nothing else."  
  
"Are they clear? The glove prints, I mean."  
  
"Yeah, look like they were made by a rubber glove. But Griss didn't find any gloves at Barron's apartment."  
  
Thanking him, Sara thrilled with excitement. Rubber gloves are unique, due to the moulding process and minute imperfections in the rubber. They are as individual as fingerprints - and fingerprints may be recovered from their insides, too. If they could find Barron's gloves, they could tie him to the crime. Seeing Grissom in his office, Sara went in.  
  
"Hi Grissom. The fibres from Barron's clothes don't match any found at the scene, but I found part of a rubber kitchen glove, and Warrick found good glove prints at the Tiernans'. I'd like to go back and talk to Anna again - maybe she'll tell me where Barron's gloves are."  
  
"No. I looked all over that apartment, and there were no kitchen gloves there. Barron has an alibi."  
  
"But I'm sure Anna is just covering for him..."  
  
"I said no, Sara. I know you think Barron has been harming her, but she hasn't said anything of the sort. She could be what she said she was - clumsy. You've got to stop relying on feelings and let the evidence guide you. We'll re-interview their friends tomorrow, and look for rubber gloves in their homes."  
  
Sara gritted her teeth as she left Grissom's office. She knew she could get Anna to talk to her, if Grissom would only let her. But he seemed convinced that their investigation had come to a dead end, and was prepared to reverse direction. Sometimes Sara found Grissom unbelievably irritating. She respected and admired him, yes, but he could be as stubborn as a mule and never allowed his feelings into a case, even when they could help rather than hinder. For years she had thought she was in love with him, only recently recognising it for hero-worship. Grissom needed a woman like Lady Heather, someone who could take control, a dominatrix not just with chains and handcuffs but in personality too. It could still make Sara blush to recall the number of times she had embarrassed herself over him, making clumsy come-ons to him, which he always rejected. At least that was over now, and she had settled into a more comfortable relationship with him. Right now though, she was deeply frustrated with him, desperate to follow her lead and see where it took her.

* * *

The night shift ended, and the CSIs began clearing up to make way for the day crew. Normally Sara would have stayed late, something she often did during troubling cases, but this time she left dead on time. Brass saw her leave with a purposeful and slightly guilty look, but thought nothing of it. Saying goodbye to Grissom, though, he started to worry when the CSI supervisor mentioned that he had refused permission for Sara to visit Anna Sullivan again. Growing concerned for Sara's safety if Barron was all she thought he was the detective drove quickly to Barron's apartment.  
  
Arriving, he noted that Sara's car was not parked in front of the building, but decided to see if she was with Anna anyway. Walking up the dingy stairwell, Brass heard raised voices coming from Barron's apartment.  
  
"Please, please leave!"  
  
"Anna, has he been hurting you? Please tell me, I can get help for you," came Sara's voice, sounding despairing.  
  
"I..." Anna's voice was cut short.  
  
"She's just fine, aren't you honey?" Barron's voice cut in, "She'd be better if you weren't noseying around though. Messing with things that don't concern you. Elizabeth got what she deserved, and you can't prove I had a thing to do with it, and you'd better stop trying." Hearing an unmistakable threat in Barron's voice, Brass hurried up the stairs. "If you know what's good for you, bitch, you'll stay away from me."  
  
As Brass rounded the stairs he saw Barron had hold of Sara, his dirty fingernails digging into the soft flesh of her arm. As he opened his mouth to speak, Barron caught sight of Brass at the top of the stairs, and thrust Sara from him, sending her cannoning into Brass. Reflexively Brass caught Sara and held her close to him for one delicious moment, before taking a step towards Barron, suddenly furious with the grinning ape.  
  
"Don't ever threaten my friends Mr Barron, I'm warning you," Brass said in a low voice before shepherding Sara down the stairs.  
  
As they came out into the sunlight Jim saw that she was white with fear and fury.  
  
"What the hell did you think you were doing back there?!"  
  
"That...man has been hitting her! I saw the bruises! I could have got her to talk to me if _he_ hadn't been there!"  
  
"Sara, if he is the murderer he could have hurt you! You shouldn't have come here alone."  
  
"Grissom said I couldn't question Anna again, so I hitched a lift off one of the lab techs and came anyway."  
  
Looking at Sara, Brass saw she was shaking as the realisation of what could have happened hit her. He watched her for a moment, deciding what to do next.  
  
"C'mon. You're coming with me."  
  
"Are you going to tell Grissom?"  
  
"No, not unless Barron complains. But I'm not letting you go home like this. We're going to my house to talk about this."  
  
They drove to Brass' house in silence. Sara thought how lucky she had been that Jim had followed her. She shivered, remembering how blank and hate-filled Barron's eyes had been. He could have done anything to her, and no one had known where she was. Except Jim. She sneaked a look at him, and realised that he was always there for them, routinely protecting them from the violent and immoral people they pursued, and they so rarely noticed. If he hadn't been there...she shuddered, trying to think of something else.  
  
Brass drove in a turmoil of emotion. He had been scared of what Barron might do. Sara was brave - too brave sometimes. It hadn't occurred to her that Barron might harm her, that her job could not protect her from men like that. He remembered too, the most unfriend-like feelings that had risen in him during that too-brief moment when he held Sara against him. Feelings he should not feel for his younger colleague, and must suppress. He had to persuade Sara not to endanger herself like this - someday he might not be quick enough to save her.

* * *

They arrived at Jim's house and as he ushered her inside Sara took in the simple comfort of his home, so unlike her own. She sat down on a soft brown leather sofa while Jim disappeared into another room. His was obviously the home of a man who lived alone, with shelves of books dotted here and there and a large TV. On a side table Sara spotted a photograph of his estranged daughter Ellie, taken in happier times. The atmosphere was relaxing, unlike her own spare apartment, only used for sleep and food. Sara found her nerves unwinding after that horrible encounter.  
  
Jim soon returned, bearing two bottles of beer. He'd removed his jacket and tie, and looked better dressed so casually. Sara took a beer from him as he settled himself on the sofa. She looked at him questioningly.  
  
"Its okay to drink, so long as you don't use it to hide away."  
  
She looked at her hands and then said, "I'm sorry Jim, I shouldn't have put myself in that position, or involved you in it either."  
  
"Sara, you should have told someone where you were going. Barron is a dangerous man."  
  
"I know, but Grissom..."  
  
"You could have asked me. If I knew you were determined to go, I would have accompanied you. I don't want you putting yourself in danger like that again. You should keep away from Barron - he was definitely threatening you there."  
  
Sara raised her eyes to his, and Jim saw the pain and frustration there. "He's been hitting her. I'm sure of it. She was terrified of him. He killed that woman and that girl - and Anna's fear is the only thing stopping us getting him for it."  
  
"Sara...if she won't say anything, our hands are tied. If he's got her too scared..."  
  
"It's not fair!" As Sara contemplated the idea that Elizabeth and Joanna might never receive justice, Sara realised she was starting to cry. Horrified, she tried to stop herself, covering her eyes with her hands, ashamed of letting go. Then she felt Jim place an arm around her shoulders. All in a rush, Sara's defences crumbled and she sobbed as Jim drew her into his arms, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. He held her tightly as she cried the tears she had held down for so long into his shoulder. He stroked her hair as she sobbed out all the frustrations and the pain she felt at being unable to help the victims. Jim just held her, comforting her without words, letting her let go in a way she couldn't normally achieve.  
  
Eventually, she had no more tears to shed, though she made no move to leave the safety of Jim's arms.  
  
"I'm sorry," Sara said, too ashamed of what she might see to look at him.  
  
"It's okay. Everyone needs to cry sometimes," Jim murmured into her ear. She looked into his eyes, and saw no contempt for a colleague who couldn't restrain her emotions, only compassion and something she couldn't identify. Jim stroked her cheek and smiled at her, then kissed her temple gently and drew her close to him again. He continued to reassure her, promising to help her in any way he could to catch the killer. Jim felt her relax, her tears spent, and held her until she fell into a sleep she desperately needed.  
  
He held the sleeping woman for a while longer, enjoying the feeling of her lying safe in his arms. Then he gently lifted her and carried her to his bedroom, never waking her. Removing her shoes he laid her gently on his bed, covering her with a blanket. Jim kissed her softly on the forehead before heading off to sleep on his sofa. She was safe, if not yet happy; and he would do anything to help her seek out justice for those victims. Brass fell asleep thinking of Sara, and how much he felt for her, how much more than she realised. 


	3. Third Part

**A/N**: Completed! My first complete fic, so I hope someone likes it. Thanks for the reviews - greatly appreciated, I can tell you. Not sure if the words in the court scene are correct, as I'm not American, but I'm sure you get the point. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Sara woke up in an unfamiliar room. Puzzled, she sat up and looked around. Then she remembered the previous night, and how she had wept on Jim's shoulder. He must have carried her into his bed, because she could not remember walking there. Looking at the clock Sara realised that she had slept for far longer than was normal for her, and felt relaxed and happy as a consequence. Getting out of the bed Sara returned to the front room, and found Jim still deep in sleep on the sofa. He looked peaceful as he lay there, and Sara decided not to wake him just yet. She was inspecting the titles of his books when she heard him turn over, and heard him murmur her name in his sleep. 'He's dreaming about me,' she realised, and felt oddly pleased by that.  
  
The telephone rang, and Sara rushed to get it, not wanting it to wake Jim.  
  
"Hello?" she said.  
  
"Sara? Did I get the number right? I was trying to ring Brass," said Catherine, sounding confused.  
  
"Er, yeah, this is Jim's house. He's still asleep. Is it urgent?"  
  
"Wuh? Um, no, no it can wait until he gets in." Catherine rang off, sounding very puzzled indeed. No doubt she would be wondering why Sara was at Jim's house at that hour. Realising she hadn't exactly explained properly, Sara was grateful that Catherine wasn't a gossip, and that she wouldn't be greeted by the whole lab wondering about her love life. Not that she would be ashamed to have that thought about her and Jim; he was quite attractive in his own way, and a good man. Sara idly tried to imagine kissing him, and was pleasantly surprised to realise the idea didn't turn her off - quite the opposite in fact. Crossly, she stopped that train of thought, wondering if she was going to become some strange person who was always attracted to her older colleagues.  
  
Jim stirred again, it seemed as though her conversation with Catherine had pushed him on the road to wakefulness. His eyes opened, and he fixed his gaze on her for a long moment before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'I thought I was dreaming again,' and sitting up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.  
  
"How are you feeling?" he asked.  
  
"Much better, thanks. I'm sorry you had to sleep on the couch."  
  
"That's OK. You looked like you needed the rest. Do you want some coffee?"  
  
Sara said yes, and settled herself on the couch as Jim bustled about in his kitchen. A few minutes later he returned bearing big mugs of coffee.  
  
"Oh, by the way, Catherine rang, but she said it could wait until you get into work."  
  
Jim laughed, "Bet she's wondering why you picked up the phone." They both laughed at how beside herself with curiosity Catherine would be when they got in.  
  
They talked happily for a while, both enjoying the companionship they rarely experienced outside work, before Jim offered to drive Sara home to change. She waited a while as Jim got changed, and then he drove her to her apartment. He waited while she dressed, as Sara had left her car at the lab. When she returned, Sara surprised him by kissing him on the cheek.  
  
"Thanks for...for everything."  
  
Jim wrapped her in a bear hug and, cupping her face with his hand said, "Anytime. And I mean that." Then he kissed her forehead and they returned to his car.  
  
"You're very affectionate today Jim."  
  
"Hey, I've got half the lab thinking I'm in a relationship with a beautiful young woman. What guy wouldn't be happy?" Jim said, with a wicked grin. Sara gave him an affectionate punch on the arm, and they drove to the lab, still chuckling.

* * *

They were hardly out of the car when Catherine appeared and towed Sara away by the arm. The older woman practically dragged Sara into the nearest unoccupied lab. Closing the door behind them, Catherine turned to face Sara and demanded "Spill!"  
  
Sara had to contain her giggles as she said, innocently, "What do you mean?"  
  
"Don't pull that innocent face with me - you and Brass, what's going on?"  
  
"Nothing's going on, Catherine."  
  
"You answered the phone at his house when he was sleeping. Don't tell me you didn't stay the night."  
  
"Well yes but..."  
  
"Aha! I knew it. You two make a really cute couple." Catherine was practically rubbing her hands with glee at the piece of gossip that had fallen her way.  
  
"Catherine! We had a few beers together and I couldn't drive home, so I stayed over. We didn't sleep together - he was on the couch."  
  
Catherine looked suspicious, and then disappointed, but then brightened and said, "Well why don't you two get together? You like him, don't you?"  
  
Sara blushed furiously, "Catherine! We're just friends!"  
  
"Hmmm," Catherine looked as though she were plotting something, but before she could continue with her interrogation the door to the lab opened, and Grissom strode in.  
  
"I've been looking for you two. Catherine, I want you to ring Mrs Tiernan and find out if her daughter had any enemies other than Barron. Sara, I'd like you to question the Tiernans' next-door neighbours again, and go over that night in case we missed something. Brass has offered to accompany you." With that, Grissom returned to his own work. Catherine winked at Sara as she set off to find Brass, obviously planning a little match making as an amusement.  
  
Smiling at Catherine's glee, Sara went to find Jim. He was sitting in his office waiting for her, and walked alongside her to his car.  
  
"Jim..."  
  
"We can go and speak to Anna for a little while after we've seen the neighbours, if you like. But Grissom hasn't given his permission and I doubt he'd be keen."  
  
"He doesn't have to know, does he?"  
  
"I just hope you're right about Anna. Gil won't be happy that we've gone to speak to her without informing him, but he won't be too bad if she is able to help us."  
  
"Thanks Jim. I really am certain about this."  
  
"I believe you - that man is a pig, I saw that much last night. That's why I'm helping you now. I don't want you going alone again." His face was grave, and Sara promised she would tell him if she decided to do anything like that again.

* * *

They arrived at the Tiernans' home soon afterwards, and began re-interviewing the neighbours. None had anything new to tell them. They had been quiet people, friendly but not too close with their neighbours, and they were all devastated by the tragedy. Some of them had seen a strange man around the street every so often, but could not be certain of who he was or who he was there to see. On the night of the murders, no one had seen or heard anything significant - Barron had slipped in and out of the house, had raped and killed Elizabeth and Joanna without anyone being aware. Only one woman had heard anything unusual, and even she had caught no glimpse of the killer, nor of his car or anything that might identify him.  
  
It was shocking how easily the two women had died, how powerless they had been in the face of their aggressor, and how unable they had been to alert anyone to what was happening. So often when we think of death, it is the knifing on a city street that comes to mind, the act of a drug-crazed stranger, easily caught. How hard it is to comprehend that if we die by violence, that violence will come not from a stranger but from one known, perhaps loved, from an ordinary man with whom we have shared ourselves. Evil is not a stranger to us; it lives as close as a friend, enjoying the access and proximity to us to unleash its rage.  
  
Brass and Sara, sure as they were of the culprit, were afraid to press for his identification, lest by their leading questions they encourage a witness to a false identification, and thus leave Barron a loophole from with to escape justice. They had to accept that no one here could help them, and that all their hopes relied on the buried courage of an abused woman. She alone could give a just ending to the Tiernans' story.

* * *

Once again they found themselves outside Barron's apartment block. With a certain amount of apprehension they knocked on the door, hoping that he was indeed working. Anna opened the door to them, and reluctantly allowed them inside. Brass sat back on the suspicious sofa, content to allow Sara to take the lead in questioning Barron's girlfriend.  
  
"Why have you come back here? He..." Anna began, in a faltering voice.  
  
"Anna, it's really important that you tell us the truth, no matter how scared you are." Anna said nothing, so Sara continued, "Forget what Robert told you about his ex. Elizabeth was a good woman. She was working as a receptionist, a woman of about our age. A nice, friendly woman with lots of friends, lots of people who cared for her. Then she met Robert, and she fell in love. They started going out, and she was happy. But then Robert started to worry that she wanted to be with other men. So he always went with her on nights out, when she was with her friends. He got mad if a man spoke to her, and she stopped seeing her male friends. Soon he was getting mad if a man just looked at her, and started accusing her friends of trying to split them up, of trying to entice her with other men. Elizabeth loved him, so she stopped going out with her friends; soon she stopped seeing them at all. So it was just the two of them. Then one night, he hit her." Anna looked at her hands. "After, he cried and said how sorry he was, but she had driven him to it, because she was always flirting with other men. He loved her, and he got angry when she was unfaithful. It would never happen again. But it did. He was always so sorry afterwards that Elizabeth forgave him, and hid the bruises. One day she saw him while she was at work, standing and watching her through the windows. He said he had to be sure she wasn't with another man behind his back. He hit her when he thought she was coming on to her boss." Tears were slowly running down Anna's cheeks. "Then Elizabeth found out she was pregnant. She thought it would be a new start for them both, but Robert said it wasn't his, and hit her for it. She couldn't let her baby be hurt, and so she finally left, and went to stay with her mom. He turned up there all the time, sometimes pleading, saying he was sorry, other times saying she was a whore and threatening her. She got a court order against him, stopping him contacting her. Eventually she had a baby girl, she called her Joanna. She started trying to get her life back, but Robert wouldn't leave her alone. He threatened her and Joanna, said he would hurt them. She even tried to get back together with him, for Joanna's sake, but it only got worse, the beatings and constant put downs got worse. That ended the day he hit Joanna. Finally, Elizabeth moved to Vegas, hoping for a new start. They didn't tell Robert where they had gone. They moved into a nice house, and Joanna started at a new school. She made friends - they both did - and things were getting better for them. Then a man started hanging around in the street. He'd tracked them down. He couldn't - he wouldn't - let them go, he said they belonged to him. And then we found them, the woman who had survived so much and the girl with so much to live for, both dead. Someone raped them both, strangled them, and left without a care. Anna, please help us, help us make sure no one else has to go through what they did. Help us catch their killer."  
  
They sat in silence for a while, watching Anna cry, her head lowered. Then she looked at Sara through tear-filled eyes and said, "He said they deserved it. He said if I...if I said anything that that's what would happen to me."  
  
Sara took Anna's hands and said, "That won't happen. We'll make sure he never hurts anyone again. You'll be safe, I promise."  
  
Anna looked at Sara before making up her mind. She made her way into the kitchen and returned with a pair of yellow kitchen gloves. Here and there on the gloves were tiny spots of blood, forced out of the victims as they died. Sara carefully put them into an evidence bag. They had got him.  
  
"He said I had to say he was here that night, but he wasn't," said Anna, "He..."  
  
At that moment they heard a key turn in the lock, and Anna looked terrified. Barron had come home early. He walked into the room, his eyes red from alcohol and said, "What the hell are you doing here again?" Then he caught sight of the gloves Sara was holding, and turned on Anna, his eyes blazing.  
  
"You bitch! You betrayed me! I'm gonna kill you like that whore!"  
  
"Mr Barron," Brass said, stepping forward. Barron looked at him, that blank hatred back in his eyes.  
  
"Give me that bag," he growled.  
  
"This is evidence Barron, evidence that's going to convict you," said Sara, triumph in her voice. As Barron moved threateningly toward them, Jim unconsciously moved in front of Sara, blocking her from the man in front of him.  
  
"Bitch...whore...going to **kill** you!" Barron muttered low in his throat. Then he sprang for Sara, but Jim was in the way. He landed heavily on the detective, knocking him to the ground before he could reach his gun. Rolling on the floor, Brass tried to restrain him, but Barron punched him hard on the face, stunning him for a moment. As the killer tried to rise, intent on Sara, Anna rushed forward and kicked him, hard in the groin. Barron doubled up with pain as Sara restrained him, pulling his hands behind his back so that he could not move. Brass clicked handcuffs on him and said,  
  
"Robert Barron, you are under arrest for the murder of Elizabeth and Joanna Tiernan. You have the right to remain silent..."

* * *

Uniformed officers took the now restrained Barron away in a squad car. Leaving Anna to make a statement to another officer, Brass and Sara returned to the lab with their precious cargo. They knew that the other CSIs would have been informed of the arrest by then, and that Grissom would want an explanation. Still they both felt satisfied with the outcome, knowing that Anna's co-operation would put Barron behind bars.  
  
Yet it was with some apprehension that Sara walked into the lab with Brass - she felt like a school kid summoned to see the principal. Even though the results had been good, Grissom would not be pleased that she had disobeyed him.  
  
As they entered the lab, Grissom appeared - he had evidently been waiting for them to arrive. He did not look pleased to see them; his mouth was thin with disapproval.  
  
"Give me the evidence. I'll analyse it. I want to speak to you two about this later." He glared at them, and they both decided it would be prudent to retreat until Grissom had finished. They wound up in Brass' office, hoping Grissom would be in a better mood when he came to see them.  
  
"Why's Grissom in such a mood? We solved the case for him!" Sara said, kicking a nearby chair in frustration.  
  
"I feel like a naughty boy waiting to get his knuckles rapped," grumbled Brass, cocking his head on one side and pulling the most ridiculous expression.  
  
Sara burst into laughter, and Jim joined her. Smiling, she moved closer to him, holding his hands in hers.  
  
"Thanks for believing me Jim. For...trusting me enough to let me go off and do what I wanted, to follow my instinct."  
  
"No problem," he said in a low voice.  
  
Sara moved closer again to him, and, touching his cheek with her hand, gently ran the pad of her thumb over the bruise forming on Jim's cheek. There was something so intimate about the gesture that Jim felt his breath catch in his throat. "I'm sorry you got hurt," Sara said. Then he found it hard to breathe, as Sara stared deep into his eyes, and at his lips. Her forefinger ran along his bottom lip, and Jim had to swallow heavily. "Sara..." he said, in a long, drawn-out whisper. Closer and closer she moved to him, until he could feel her breath on his mouth. She was going to kiss him, and he wanted her, but was so scared of what the consequences might be. Sara smiled her charming, confident smile, and gave him a lingering kiss on the lips. A pause, while he searched her eyes for reassurance, and then Jim kissed her. He felt laughter, and tears, and desire all melting into one, and kissed her deeper, his tongue probing her mouth.  
  
They kissed again and again; kisses both long and passionate, holding one another as if afraid to let go.  
  
"Sara?" Jim said, as they paused for breath.  
  
"Mmmm?" she replied, tracing his face with her fingertips.  
  
"Why? I mean, I didn't think you liked me that way."  
  
"I didn't. I don't think I ever really looked at you, Jim, but I'm looking now." And again she pulled him into a deep embrace, eagerly returned.  
  
As they were lost deep in each other they heard a cough. They sprang apart, both blushing furiously as they realised Grissom had interrupted them. Then, almost defiantly Sara moved to Jim's side, and laced her fingers with his.  
  
"The, er, the gloves confirm Barron killed the Tiernans," said Grissom, uneasily, "apparently he's made a full confession. Um, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you Sara, you were right. But I don't want you disobeying me like this again - inform me if you're planning on interviewing witnesses next time. Er, you can take the rest of the shift off and er, well, yeah..." Grissom left hurriedly, obviously rather embarrassed at intruding.  
  
"Well that's one way of getting out of a reprimand," said Brass with a wry grin.  
  
"How about we continue what we were doing elsewhere?" Sara said with a smile, running her hand down Jim's chest.  
  
"Sounds good to me," he said, with a wide grin and hand in hand they set off for home.

* * *

Several weeks later, and Barron stood in the dock awaiting the jury's verdict. Sara and Jim sat together, holding hands in the public gallery, eager to see the result of their work.   
  
"Members of the jury, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?" the judge said.  
  
"On the charge of murder in the first degree against Elizabeth Tiernan we find the defendant guilty. On the charge of murder in the first degree against Joanna Tiernan we find the defendant guilty."  
  
A cheer rose from the gallery as Barron was convicted. Smiling at Sara, Jim leant over and whispered "congratulations," before drawing her into a deep kiss. "Now let's go and celebrate."

* * *

Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum  
**Let Justice be done, though the heavens fall.**

* * *


End file.
